We poured four whiskies from three Tennessee distilleries at our Tuesday tasting last eve: George Dickel No. 8 (80 proof), George Dickel No. 12 (90 proof), Prichard’s (80 proof), and Jack Daniels Old No. 7 (80 proof).

No huge surprises with these selections: plenty of sweetness and oak wood, cherry, slight citrus, and honey corn. Few high floral notes on any of these whiskies. The Dickel No. 12 at 90 proof had good depth and complexity. 

Interesting night. Fun to try Jack Daniels after so many weeks of whiskies from all over the country. Millions and millions of cases come out of Lynchburg every year and Jack stays pretty much Jack: the most popular whiskey in the USA…maybe the world?   

Another AWBAR Tuesday evening tasting last night and it was an interesting and challenging one at that. Four American single malts took the field: Prichard’s (Tennessee), St. George (California), Hudson (New York), and McCarthy’s (Oregon). Quite a geographical spread for this micro-segment of the American booze market.

We got diverse flavor profiles—wood smoke, iodine, leather, tobacco, stewed fruit, bicycle tire. You name it. And nothing bashful about them. The tasters this particular evening all know their malts quite well and we couldn’t really decide if it’s fair to stack up American drams against the Scots. Let’s just say the conversation continues.